Good-Value Tanzania & Livingstone

‘Jambo’ is the daily greeting in Tanzania and soon you will be saying it automatically to everyone you come across! After flying into Arusha Airport, you will be welcomed by a driver for the short trip to Rivertrees Country Inn. Arusha is a small town surrounded by coffee plantations and protected by the peak of Mount Meru. Rivertrees is the epitome of this ‘country life’ with lush gardens, stone, timber and thatch architecture, and a classic bungalow layout.

Shake off any jet-lag with a dip in the swimming pool or a stroll around the manicured garden. The next morning sees you set off, as so many others have done, to the safari wonderland of Tarangire.

For the next two nights your home will be a very comfortable tent with an en suite bathroom in the heart of Tarangire. With proper beds, flushing loos and hot showers, you will find yourself perfectly placed to enjoy all that Tarangire has to offer.

After morning and afternoon game drives to view the animals during the coolest parts of the day when they are most active, you can relax back at Tarangire Ndovu Camp with an iced drink and a pair of binoculars for birding and watching the world go by. In the evenings, time around the campfire under the stars is never time wasted.

Drive through Lake Manyara National Park – known for its massive flocks of pink flamingos – takes you to the fertile Karatu region and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Your accommodation changes from spacious tents to a beautiful log cabin on stilts that overlooks forested slopes – even the sun-splashed swimming pool has a wonderful vista. Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge has a private spa, lovely open-air dining areas and cosy fireplaces for the chilly evenings over the winter peak season.

A highlight here most definitely takes place on Day 5 of your holiday, when you undertake a game drive to the Ngorongoro Crater. This is one of the few volcanic calderas or rims that are still fully intact: the caldera protects the animals within its steep walls while the minerals in the crater floor’s soil allow for plentiful grazing. Streams feed marshes and waterholes, meaning wildlife here is generally in excellent condition. The crater is considered by experts to be one of the best places on earth to see all of the Big 5, often in a single game drive. It is not unusual to see elephant, lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo on the same day but, of course, nothing is guaranteed in Nature. Its very unpredictability – you never know what you will see next! – is part of what makes safari so much fun.

After nearly a week exploring northern Tanzania, it is time to bid your devoted driver farewell on your return to Arusha. You will have experienced many adventures together and it is not surprising how quickly a bond can form out in the African bush.
But it is now time for a new guide and new adventures. A light aircraft will fly you into the Serengeti where a tented lodge in a prime position awaits you. With just 10 tents, Kichakani is a superb melding of the safari days of yore with modern conveniences. The beds are swathed in frothy mosquito netting, the en suite bathroom features a classic bucket shower and the mess tent harks back to the 19th century. The 21st century is represented by flush loos, a complimentary laundry service (which is very convenient after a week on safari) and charging points for your camera. The entire camp is designed with the lightest possible environmental impact in mind.

The camp moves throughout the year to keep up with the migrating herds of wildebeest until they leave Tanzania and cross into Kenya. This is among the most dramatic times of the Great Migration as the herds have to cross the treacherous Mara River on their journey, the females often pregnant, with crocodiles, lions and leopards often lying in wait…

Even outside the Migration season, the Serengeti serves up superb game viewing. Its prides of lion are famously large, the birdlife is excellent and you will come across all sorts of predators and plains game.

After more than a week on safari, it is time for a complete change of scene. In order to fly to Victoria Falls, you will spend a night in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to access the connecting flights. Your overnight abode is the Eka Hotel, a modern establishment close to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. This is a good opportunity to make the most of the Wi-Fi and perhaps savour a massage after time on bumpy roads.

It is your final few days in Africa and what better place to spend it then The River Club in Zambia, just upstream from Victoria Falls? This tranquil riverside property has plenty to recommend it: a running and walking track through the gardens, a croquet lawn, a billiard table, beautiful antiques and, naturally, pretty river views. Suites are very large – sink down into your bubble bath to watch the Zambezi River flowing hypnotically past…

The big hitter here is the biggest waterfall in the world. A guided tour will fill you in on everything you need to know about the length and breadth of Mosi-oa-Tunya, as the Falls are traditionally known. Water levels fluctuate throughout the year and, depending on when you visit, you may be able to partake of adventure activities like white-water rafting, swimming in a shallow eddy on the precipice known as the Devil’s Pool, taking tea on Livingstone Island or even being lucky enough to see a lunar rainbow.

There is also plenty of shopping to enjoy as well as more sedate pastimes like touring the Victoria bridge the connects Zimbabwe with Zambia or booking a last game drive in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park on the Zambian side. The topper to your holiday is a sunset cruise on the Zambezi, the perfect time to enjoy ‘yawning’ hippos, wading elephants, calling fish eagles and the antics of crocodiles, vervet monkeys, water monitors and aquatic bird species like skimmers and terns, before you make your way home.